Conservation Efferts, Sustainability, Conflicts

The bureau of meteorology is required to collect, manage, hold interpret and disseminate Australia’s water information. That was set in Australia’s 2007 water act (bom.gov.au).  The bureau’s responsibilities under the act include:

• issuing national water information standards
• collecting and publishing water information
• conducting regular national water resources assessments
• publishing an annual National Water Account
• providing regular water availability forecasts
• giving advice on matters relating to water information
• enhancing understanding of Australia’s water resources.

According to the Sustainable Australia in brief 2013 value of agricultural production has increased and at the same time the water extraction decreased. Households reduced their water consumption by 35% in the decade to 2011 (environment.gov.au).

Australia seems to be on the right track with conservation. Setting in place standards of water use and is showing that the country is willing to follow those standards by decreasing their water use for a sustainable future.

The education level in Australia has risen. By 2012 80% of people aged 20 to 64 has finished the 12th grade. Vocational or higher 60% up from 1994″Australia is among the high performing countries in the OECD for 15 year olds’ competency in reading, mathematics and science”. (environment.gov.au).  However that is not across the board in all Australia’s territories. It drop considerably lower among the less populated and disadvantaged regions.

Some programs that Australia is trying to utilize are using more rain buckets and rain water harvesting, vertical gardens which is exactly how it sounds. Vertical planting so the water is reused plant by plant. Shower towers and cooling towers.The shower and cooling tower systems use water as the cooling media, allowing for an energy-efficient cooling system.  Recycled water is used in the cooling towers, while the shower towers use mains water. (melbourne.vic.gov.au).

Water for the future is the Australian governments long term initiative for the future in farmers, environment and community. Water for the future is built on 4 priorities: Taking action on climate change, using water wisely, securing water supplies and supporting healthy rivers and wetlands (environment.gov.au). Australia is investing in desalinization, water recycling, storm water harvesting and reuse projects to help with rainwater collection.  Also by funding local projects to save and reduce water projects in towns and cities across Australia. for the future Australia seems like it is on the right track. Governments are helping regions and municipalities in helping their citizens get water. Helping them get water and conserving the water that they are able to get. Even though Australia is split up into different territories I see that the Government is very aware of the water issues and have been addressed in the top tier of discussion since 2011. The Australian Government is preparing the territories for climate change on their water sources through

• the development of a Basin Plan to establish sustainable water diversion limits in the Murray-Darling Basin;
• better monitoring, assessment and forecasting of the availability, condition and use of water resources in Australia;
• helping farmers and rural communities plan for the impacts of climate change on water availability;
• assessing current and future water availability in the Murray-Darling Basin, Tasmania, south-west Western Australia and northern Australia through the CSIRO Sustainable Yields projects; and
• investigation of the development of northern Australia’s water resources (.environment.gov.au).          The governments of Australia are in control of the water, but they higher company’s who are better equipped and more knowledgeable  to take care of it. In several of the territories in Australia people are allowed to sell there water. Kind of like in the U.S. we have water rights, but in certain parts in Australia if you want to sell your water you have to put in an application to sell your water. They do that to make sure it is not harming anything or anyone past your property.

There has not been a lot of serious water conflicts in Australia. I believe it is because of the territory split. The different territories have different governments to control their waters. One that stands out on the national level is that an Australian man was charged with killing another over water restrictions in Sydney, Australia. A 66 year old man was watering his grass on the right day, but then heard a comment from a passerby. The 66 year old man sprayed the passerby with the hose which prompted the 36 year old walker to beat the man down. the 66 year old man died in the hospital later (.abc.net.au). Sometimes it gets so hot in Australia that animals ask for water.

I believe that in the future if we don’t make sure that water conservation is a tier one concern we as in the world will have a problem. When I think of the water crisis in so many places I think of the movie Mad Max. Water as the most valuable resource and only few control it. The world dries out and its a struggle to stay alive in the waste lands. I don’t know how far this future is definitely not in my life time but maybe n my sons life time. I think desalination is a big help that we need to invest more money in. If the world is getting warmer than we need to harvest the water instead of letting it evaporate. Ground water and aquifers need to be our last resort reserves and should not be used unless truly necessary.

Blog 3- Water Use by Industry, Municipal & Agricultural use, Energy and Mining

water consumption chartNew South Wales is the territory that uses the most water in Australia. It is the  most south western territory in Australia. The industry and the housing in South Wales consumed 8713 Gl of water in 2012-13 which was up 39% from 2010-2011 (abs.gov.au). The big increase of water usage was driven by the agriculture industry, which raised to 54% from 2011. The things in the agriculture industry that made it rise was the sheep, beef, cattle and grain farming sector. Consumption in the households rose by 44%. It was the highest in Australia (abs.gov.au). The manufacturing industry  combined with mining industry consumed 229 GL. That was a combined increase of 30% from 2011-12 to 2013. New South wales total revenue for 2012-13 was 4.3 billion 27% of Australia’s total (abs.gov.au). After New South Wales the breakdown of water consumption is like this:

Victoria 4,220 Gal

Queensland 3,789 Gal

South Australia 1,113 Gal

Western Australia 1,287 Gal

Tasmania 397 Gal

Northern Territory 176 Gal

In the latest poll from chartsbin.com per capita Australia is in the red for water withdraw.

water use per capita

There is not a large corporation that has control of the water in Australia, the water is owned by the government and people of the different territories. For example Western Australia’s water is managed by the Water Corporation http://www.watercorporation.com.au/about-us. Melbourne Water which is under the Victorian Government manages their water and some others “Day to day we manage water supply catchments, treat and supply drinking and recycled water, remove and treat most of Melbourne’s sewage, and manage waterways and major drainage systems in the Port Phillip and Westernport region”. There are some who have water rights and are able to buy and sell their water.

The water is delivered to the people from the different territories pretty much the same way. Diversions from the rivers, creeks and dams. Melbourne Water uses many reservoir’s along with a Dam per person its calculated at 160 liters a day (melbournewater) . Water Corporation uses water from desalination and a Metro Dam. Queensland is regulated by the Government and use several dams. Per person per day its about 188liters ( brisbanetimes ) . TasWater which is formed by four different water corporations is the manager of water in Tasmania. Three were owned by Government in their regions, now they are one corporation and work the storage deliver and sewage systems. SA Water manages water in Southern Australia. Reservoir’s are their primary water storage areas.

Irrigation Australia Limited is “the only national body covering the entire value chain of the urban and rural irrigation industry in Australia”( irrigation.org.au).  The different territories of Australia all use different types of water tanks, pumps and sprinkler systems for their homes, businesses and farms. According to Orignenergy.com.au Most of Australia’s energy comes from fossil fuels. In fact, 86 percent of electricity in Australia is generated by fossil fuels, 73 percent from coal and natural gas is about 13 percent.

 

Sanitation

There are pollutants in the water of Australia just like there are some in other counties water supplies. In Australia they regulate dumping and incineration under the Environmental Protection Act 1891. The Montara Oil spill. “On 21 August 2009 the Montara wellhead platform drill rig owned by PTTEP Australasia suffered a well head accident, resulting in the uncontrolled discharge of oil and gas. The discharge of oil and gas was stopped on 3 November 2009.” (environmental.gov.au) That was the worst oil spill in Australia and one of the worst pollutant disasters in the country. Right now the worst thing facing Australia is the poor water quality and sediment quality effecting their marine and coastal life(EP.gov.au). 80 percent of the pollution comes from the land. Others include coastal acids sulfate soils, maritime pollutions, ballest water and introduced marine pest and befouling.

Comparison

AustraliaUnited States

More economical factors

We as Americans take water for granted because it is something we have always had and the majority of us have never worried about where it comes from. In Australia like stated above they are in a very large drought. Also stated above is that the different regions of Australia think differently about the water prices in their region. in Billions this is what the water utilities were at for the corresponding year 2010 Billion 11.4  –

2011 Billion 12.9 Growth 13.2-

2012 Billion 13.7 Growth 6.6-

2013 Billion 14.0 Growth 1.9-

2014(e) 16.0 Growth 14.3

CAGR: 2010–14 8.9% (Australia water utilities)

This is a map of the territories different water resources and where their water comes from.

Table 1: Australia water utilities industry value: $ billion, 2010–14(e)

Year $ billion A$ billion € billion % Growth

Availibility of water in Australia

This is a link to a five minute video about the de salinization plant in Australia. Australia has been in a drought for more than a decade. A study from National Oceanic Atmospheric  Administration concluded that rainfalls decline was contributed greatly by human activity. South West Australia is seeing the worst of the drought. Predicted for the total reductions to be approximately 40% in  austral autumn and  winter precipitation( Theguardian.com ). Perth, the largest and capitol city in Australia has already seen a 75% decrease in its reservoirs in the past 50 years ( Theguardian.com). The water sectors are divided up between the 6 territories: West Australia,  Queensland, South Australia, North Territory, New South Wales and Victoria. “In line with the 2014 findings, more respondents believed urban water prices were too low (32%) than too high (25%). However, findings differed significantly across jurisdictions. For example, despite Western Australia having among the highest bills in the country, more than 50% of WA respondents considered the price of water was too low”. That was from the State of the Water sector Report of 2015. Facts at a glance – Perth water supply

Annual Perth metro consumption of mains water	300,000,000 m3
Annual average consumption for each residential supply	548 m3
Estimated daily use per person	0.504 m3.
Storage capacity of reservoirs	700,000,000 m3
Average annual long-term runoff to reservoirs	250,000,000 m3

That is the water consumption and use of the biggest and capitol city of australia(viacorp.com)

Australians from around the country get their water from many rivers and reservoirs and the the Great Artesian Basin which is the biggest Aquifer in the world.

The People

The population of Australia right now is said to be 24,259,656. their population rank is number 52 of the  world. Australia defines itself  on “aboriginal heritage” they have a culture said to have been around for 50,000 years said to be the “worlds oldest culture” the word “Aussie” which most Australians go by is a colloquialism that was used during World War I to refer to Australian-born people of British or Irish ancestry. It was used to describe “happy go lucky people” through hard times and it just stuck throughout the decades. The upper class is the 5 to 10 percent of the population then there is the middle class and working class. divided by the ownership of land and the property.

Read more: http://www.everyculture.com/A-Bo/Australia.html#ixzz3mKlVRJkI

world.http://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/australia-population/http://www.australia.com/en-us/things-to-do/aboriginal-australia.html

Features

Australia is the smallest continent. It is smaller the United States of America excluding Alaska. It’s land mass is about 2,967,909 sq miles. Australia’s terrain is mostly low plateau with deserts. It is the lowest, flattest and driest continent besides Antarctica. A notable “water feature” is lake Frome. It is a large endorheic in south Australia. It is a large, shallow vegetated salt pan. 62 miles long. Australia’s climate is arid to semi arid in the east.

http://www.about-australia.com/facts/geographic-features/

http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Asia-and-Oceania/Australia-LOCATION-SIZE-AND-EXTENT.html

Background

Australia is the worlds smallest continent. The continent is located south east of Asia in the Pacific and the Indian Ocean. Australia’s neighbors include Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Papua new Guinea, Cambodia and Vietnam to the north. To the south there is New Zealand and Antarctica.